Banning pot shops (for now) not a bad idea

This is not questioning someone's right to use marijuana to relieve chronic pain. In poll after poll, the vast majority of Americans are fine with that. But California is one of only a few states that has actually legalized the use of medical marijuana, and as you probably know the regulation has become an utter disaster. So L.A. City Councilman Jose Huizar is proposing to ban all pot shops until the state Supreme Court rules on whether cities and counties can even adopt regulations for dispensaries. It's a reasonable idea, though keep in mind that this is only one of many cases related to the legality of medical marijuana. The courts are clogged with litigation on the subject. The real answer, if at all possible, is to start over.

The legislature got us into this fix after it couldn't or wouldn't figure out how to implement Proposition 215, which allowed marijuana to be possessed and cultivated for personal medical use. Lawmakers basically left it to local municipalities to figure out the details, and the response ranged from pretending it wasn't there (L.A.) to enacting outright bans. The results have bred a patchwork industry that contains lots of bad apples. Add to that is the refusal by U.S. authorities to back off on federal drug laws. What you have is a classic case of government officials at all levels being unable to sit down and figure out a way of meeting the will of the people in California. Thing is, this isn't brain surgery - the state manages to compile rules and regulations for driving a car, and those same rules apply whether you're in L.A. or Eureka. Why can't it happen for dope? My suspicion is that dispensaries are simply not workable - marijuana would be best distributed by state-operated stores, not unlike those package stores back East. And somehow, some way, they must figure out a way to control fraudulent prescriptions. Otherwise, all other enforcement is meaningless.